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IT Pros ‘More Concerned’ About Online Security

80 per cent of IT professionals are more concerned about the digital security of their organisations in 2017 than they were in 2016 as skills gaps, government response and poor security processes cause anxiety over their ability to properly manage cyber crime.

A canvassing of the views of 200 attendees at this year’s RSA Conference – the flagship information security event which attracts tens of thousands of IT pros from around the world – by Tripwire found considerable concern around the strength of their organisations’ digital security.

When asked if they were more concerned about digital security in 2017 compared to 2016, four-fifths of respondents said yes. Tripwire said this concern could have been caused by the US government’s response to digital attacks – after Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee, just 17 per cent of respondents said they were confident the US government could properly protect itself.

David Meltzer, chief technology officer at Tripwire, said: “People and organisations alike look to the government to set an example and lead the way on all sorts of issues, including cyber security.

“What the results of this survey show is that seasoned cyber security professionals are not confident in the government’s current cyber security strategy, and these worries can trickle down to the list of concerns for an enterprise.”

Mr Meltzer urged companies to “increasingly work” with security vendors to ensure they are adopting the right cyber security approach.

Tripwire’s survey also found that while 60 per cent of respondents were “confident” in their business’s ability to enforce “foundational security controls”, significant other concerns remain.

48 per cent of IT pros said a skills gap in their organisation could cause its security to fail and 30 per cent said “inadequate processes” could hamper their corporate defences. Tripwire said this could leave them to vulnerable to intellectual property theft, reputational damage and financial loss.

Mr Meltzer commented: “With high profile data breaches hitting companies’ bottom lines, it’s no surprise that financial loss is high up on the list of security professionals’ concerns.

“It’s encouraging to see that people recognise that bad security affects a company’s brand reputation, as it means people care more about their security.

“However, the looming skills shortage that’s already been identified as a pain point is worrisome. Companies need to look for technology that can increase automation in security and reduce the manual effort required of their employees.”